Obituaries for Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003

By Staff
Retired from Meridian Housing Authority
Services for Willie George Norris Jr. will be held today at 1 p.m. at Salem Baptist Church. Burial will be in the church cemetery. James. F. Webb Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Norris, 58, of Meridian, died Sunday, Dec. 28, 2003, in his home. He was a member of Salem Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Lynda Webb Norris of Meridian; sons, Nels Norris and his wife, Amy, of Philadelphia and William Norris of Toomsuba; a daughter, Jackie Norris Vargas and her husband, Joseph, of Toomsuba; a sister, Nancy L. Norris of Hope Hull, Ala.; a brother, James T. Norris of Montgomery, Ala.; a sister-in-law, Rebecca Norris Paul of Los Angeles; a daughter-in-law, Kathia Norris Rivera of Killeen, Texas; a brother-in-law, Larry P. Webb of Montgomery; eight grandchildren, Tiffany and Jessie Hennington and Morgan Norris, all of Philadelphia, Christopher LeClaire and Catherine Norris of Killeen, Alec, Anthony and Nicholas Vargas, all of Toomsuba.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Willie George and Nannie Lee Norris; and brothers, Samuel and Everette Norris.
Pallbearers will be Keith Blackwell, Jerry Pigford, Tommy Snell, Abe Ward, Terry Clayton and David Ward.
Visitation will be today 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the church.
Services for Mary Anna Trotter Scott Calvert will be held today at 2 p.m. at Berry and Gardner Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Nehemiah Matthews officiating. Burial will be in Barker Cemetery.
Mrs. Calvert, 85, of Meridian, died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2003, at Riley Hospital.
Survivors include four brothers, Luther Trotter of Merced, Calif., Jim Trotter, Lawrence Trotter and Marion Trotter, all of Atlanta; eight sisters, Margaret Foster of Peekskill, N.Y., Mary Johnson, Anettia Daniel, Melinda Jenkins, Mycine Pockett and Henrietta Freeman, all of Atlanta, Autherine Tarlton of Sailsbury, N.C., and Anetta Molet of Long Island, N.Y.; cousins, Cleo McCoy and Johnnie Hodges, both of Meridian, Bertha Irby of Sandusky, Ohio, and Ann Patterson Hodges of South Carolina.
She was preceded in death by her husband and her parents.
Minister and educator
QUITMAN Services for J. Hardee Kennedy will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church with the Revs. Dr. Kenneth Cheek and Franklin Denham officiating. Burial and graveside services will be in the church cemetery with the Revs. Dr. Kenneth Cheek and Jake Williams officiating. Wright's Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Dr. Kennedy, 88, of Meridian, died Sunday, Dec. 28, 2003, at Heartfelt Hospice. He was an educator for more than 40 years, serving most of the time as professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and later as academic vice president of the Seminary. He was ordained into the ministry by the Harmony Baptist Church of Clarke County and was active in churches for more than 66 years.
He has served on committees of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist state conventions of Mississippi and Louisiana. His published writings include six books and numerous journal articles, all in the area of Biblical studies. In recent years he has been honored with special ceremonies and awards by Mississippi College and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Pleasant Grove Church in West Clarke County, his first pastorate in the 1930's and his pastorate again in the 1980's, named him Pastor Emeritus in a special service in 1996.
Survivors include his daughter, Jeannine Kennedy Thames of Meridian; a grandson, Christopher Thames of Fairfax, Va.; a sister-in-law, Helen Lively Stone of Bowling Green, Ky. and a brother-in-law, Charles S. Liveley of Galveston, Texas.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Virginia Gamble Kennedy of Bowling Green, Ky.; his parents, James Robert and Henrietta Hardee Kennedy; four sisters, Alice May Kennedy Walker, Adrian Kennedy Dove, Gertrude Kennedy Dorman and Gretchen Kennedy Coalson and two brothers, Ferrell Kennedy and Robert Edward Kennedy.
Memorials may be made to the Cemetery Fund of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, C/O Marshall West, 12044 County Road, Vossburg, MS 39366.
Pallbearers will be Bob Jones, Jim Crosby, Danny West, Mike Culbreth, Ernie Culbreth, Jimmy Ivy and Andy West. Honorary pallbearers will be James H. Kennedy, Jack Wallis, Dan W. Hardee Sr., Bryan Ivey, John A. Blair and Marshall West.
Visitation will be Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the funeral home.
Retired
Services for Christopher Fikes will be held Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at James F. Webb Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Robert Rowzee and Roger Ivy officiating. Burial will be in Fellowship Baptist Church Cemetery in Jasper County.
Mr. Fikes, 83, of Newton, died Sunday, Dec. 28, 2003, at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center. He was a member of Fellowship Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Sadie Fikes of Newton; sons, Elliotte Richardson and Douglas Fikes, both of Enterprise, and Dennis Fikes of Florence; a daughter, Lee Vanoy of Opelika, Ala.; a sister, Katherine Hamrick; 10 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be today 6 p.m.-9 p.m. at the funeral home.